on more than one occasion i have had to tell students not to put their teachers on some holy untouchable pedestal, especially when seeking out college programs or internships with “famous” artists as faculty or facilitators.
as i’ve mentioned several times before, a great artist doesn’t make a great teacher, but even from the pragmatic, career-focused perspective, an artist of one generation cannot tell younger artists how to “make it” professionally i.e. pay your bills off your art
more often than not in my own experience, my “idols” had turned out to be either independently wealthy from the get go, which, when you take into account how much extra time they had to hone their craft compared to the less economically fortunate, can explain a lot.
lacking self awareness to see how your cushy upbringing was may have set you up more for creative “success” than the average aspiring artist is obviously a problem if you’re a teacher
but what’s worse is when the ego of the educator prevents them from admitting to their students that they do *not* have it all figured out, none of us have.
the professional landscape in the music industry alone has changed ten times over even since i was in college. what the hell do i know about making a living strictly off your art in the year 2021 that my students hadn’t figured out when they were in middle and high school?
your teachers are humans, students should feel comfortable enough with their educators to critique their classroom approach in a professional manner without fear of ego-stricken repercussions.
students: don’t be awestruck by your famous teachers or mentors, and don’t let them pay you in “experience” either if you end up working for them.
i know it feels amazing to feel appreciated by someone you admire, but this is a slippery slope to being taken advantage of for your labor. just like any other late capitalist industry, many artist success stories are written by their uncredited and underpaid staff and interns.
so work with your teachers, keep admiring the mentors you seek out. but remember they’re people too, and people will always have their flaws both professional and personal. if your gut tells you it ain’t working out, even if you love their artwork, go with that gut instinct.
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